Agonashi Jizo [Okinoshimacho]

The tragic tale of the island girl in Ono no Takamura's "Agona"

When Ono no Takamura, a vice-envoy and a renowned poet during the early Heian Period, was forgiven for his wrongdoings and returned to the capitol, he left behind two wooden figures for the village girl Akona. From the legend surrounding the wooden figures, it came to e called 'Agonashi Jizo', and became a deity of toothaches (because the word 'agonashi' sounds like 'jawless'). This tragic love story is handed down even today as the islanders perform a bon-odori dance dedicated to Agora on Auguest 23rd every year.

Access information

20 min. by car from Saigo Port
Free of Charge
Open all year round
No parking
Kaminishi, Okinoshima-cho, Oki-gun, Shimane Prefecture